A convicted gunman has told a court how he was hired to kill the wife of honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 29, came face-to-face with Anni Dewani's family as he told the Western Cape High Court in South Africa he demanded a fee of 15,000 Rand (around £830 at today's rate) to carry out the attack on 28-year-old Anni, having been told: "Somebody needs to be killed."

Standing in the witness box flanked by security guards and seeing Dewani for the first time since the murder, Qwabe said he was contacted by Zola Tongo, the Dewanis' taxi driver, the day before the killing.

Anni Dewani - pictured here with husband Shrien - died on her honeymoon in South Africa

He told the court: "On the Friday (November 12, 2010) I received a call from Monde (Molombe, a friend).

"He told me that there was a job that needed to be done. Somebody wanted a job done.

"The guy's name was Zola. He told me that he has a job and we arranged that we should meet.

"We agreed that we would meet the following day, the Saturday.

"Zola was not known to me, only to Monde. He subsequently told me somebody wanted somebody to be killed. Do I know anyone? He asked what we needed. I said 15,000 (Rand)."

Mziwamadoda Qwabe told a court he was hired to kill Anni

Asked by prosecutor Adrian Mopp to explain what happened on the day of the murder, Qwabe said: "There was a husband who wanted his wife to be killed.

"Anni would be killed and it needed to look like a hijacking.

"Nothing would happen to the husband and Zola."

Dewani, again wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a black tie, shot Qwabe a long stare as the prosecution witness was ushered hurriedly into the courtroom, just inches from where Dewani was sitting in the dock.

Dewani, extradited to South Africa after a four-year battle, denies hiring Tongo to arrange the killing and make it look like a car jacking gone wrong.

Prosecutors say Dewani hatched a plot to kill his bride because he wanted out of the marriage after an 18-month romance that culminated in a lavish Mumbai wedding.

Qwabe said he and fellow convict Xolile Mngeni arranged for transport to meet up with the Dewanis' cab for the attack, during which the millionaire's mobile phone would also be taken as part of the ruse.

He told the court: "Zola phoned later on and said he was at the restaurant.

"He told me that the job needed to be done that evening. The husband wanted the wife to be killed that same evening."